Rijksmuseum

AMSTERDAM - A scrum of international TV reporters, photographers and other media packed the Gallery of Honor at the Rijksmuseum on a recent spring morning, while producers negotiated with publicists for time to shoot spots in front of Rembrandt's 1642 painting "The Night Watch," the museum's crown jewel. After 10 years of renovation at a cost of almost $500 million, the Netherlands' national museum of history, art and culture was finally ready to greet its public. From the outside, the museum is an imposing presence at the north end of Amsterdam's Museum Plaza, which is also home to the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum, which unveiled an addition last year.

Insight Vacations is offering a moderately paced “Country Roads of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands” excursion that manages to pack in a number of stops as well as lots of free time to explore on your own. Highlights of the 12-day motor coach tour include two nights in sophisticated Brussels and visits to the Chinese and Japanese pavilions; a journey to the site of the Battle of Waterloo; the city of Bruges, known for its lace and the...

Rembrandt's 17th century masterpiece "The Nightwatch" moved from the heart of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum for the first time since World War II Thursday to make way for major renovations to the building. The museum's most famous painting, depicting Amsterdam's civic guard, was packed in wood paneling with a protective cover -- including sensors to monitor temperature, humidity and vibrations -- and moved from the main building to an adjoining wing. It can still be seen by the public.

AMSTERDAM - A scrum of international TV reporters, photographers and other media packed the Gallery of Honor at the Rijksmuseum on a recent spring morning, while producers negotiated with publicists for time to shoot spots in front of Rembrandt's 1642 painting "The Night Watch," the museum's crown jewel. After 10 years of renovation at a cost of almost $500 million, the Netherlands' national museum of history, art and culture was finally ready to greet its public. From the outside, the museum is an imposing presence at the north end of Amsterdam's Museum Plaza, which is also home to the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum, which unveiled an addition last year.

Guards accompany them when they travel. Crowds flock to them when they arrive. Johannes Vermeer's exquisite paintings of young women in gleaming domestic settings are the vigilantly watched and amply insured celebrities of the museum world, promising not only a glimpse of extraordinary beauty but big crowds as well. Now two of Vermeer's luminous women are making rare appearances in California. PHOTOS: Arts & culture by The Times "Girl With a Pearl Earring" from 1665, a popular painting even before the Tracy Chevalier novel and Scarlett Johansson movie of the same name, went on display last month at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

Amsterdam's renowned Rijksmuseum, home to some of the most famous works by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters and which is undergoing restoration, will not reopen until 2010, two years later than planned. The need for extra building permits after some initial designs had been modified caused the delay, the Dutch culture ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. From Reuters * FINALLY Anniversary: David Letterman will celebrate his 25th anniversary as a late-night TV host on tonight's "Late Show."

Howjsay.com helps you avoid the embarrassment of mispronouncing words when you’re in a foreign land. What’s hot: If only I’d known about this website before I went to Australia for the first time. I would have known how to say “didgeridoo.” When discussing travel to Southeast Asia among friends, I would not have mangled my pronunciation of “Angkor Wat.” Just type a word or phrase into Howjsay.com (its dictionary has more than 135,000 entries)

Insight Vacations is offering a moderately paced “Country Roads of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands” excursion that manages to pack in a number of stops as well as lots of free time to explore on your own. Highlights of the 12-day motor coach tour include two nights in sophisticated Brussels and visits to the Chinese and Japanese pavilions; a journey to the site of the Battle of Waterloo; the city of Bruges, known for its lace and the...

Amy Winehouse drank herself to death. The soul diva who had Grammy-winning songs and fans around the world died with empty vodka bottles in her room and lethal amounts of alcohol in her blood — more than five times the British drunk driving limit, a coroner ruled Wednesday. Coroner Suzanne Greenaway gave a verdict of "death by misadventure," saying the singer died of accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after weeks of abstinence. The 27-year-old singer, who had fought a very public battle with drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed July 23 at her London home.

The Rijksmuseum, one of Amsterdam's biggest tourist attractions, has been closed indefinitely because of an asbestos scare, BBC News reports. Museum officials said there was only a small risk to the public, but they were shutting down as a precautionary measure. They said the potentially lethal insulation material had been found during an inspection by the national buildings service.

Guards accompany them when they travel. Crowds flock to them when they arrive. Johannes Vermeer's exquisite paintings of young women in gleaming domestic settings are the vigilantly watched and amply insured celebrities of the museum world, promising not only a glimpse of extraordinary beauty but big crowds as well. Now two of Vermeer's luminous women are making rare appearances in California. PHOTOS: Arts & culture by The Times "Girl With a Pearl Earring" from 1665, a popular painting even before the Tracy Chevalier novel and Scarlett Johansson movie of the same name, went on display last month at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

Amy Winehouse drank herself to death. The soul diva who had Grammy-winning songs and fans around the world died with empty vodka bottles in her room and lethal amounts of alcohol in her blood — more than five times the British drunk driving limit, a coroner ruled Wednesday. Coroner Suzanne Greenaway gave a verdict of "death by misadventure," saying the singer died of accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after weeks of abstinence. The 27-year-old singer, who had fought a very public battle with drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed July 23 at her London home.

Howjsay.com helps you avoid the embarrassment of mispronouncing words when you’re in a foreign land. What’s hot: If only I’d known about this website before I went to Australia for the first time. I would have known how to say “didgeridoo.” When discussing travel to Southeast Asia among friends, I would not have mangled my pronunciation of “Angkor Wat.” Just type a word or phrase into Howjsay.com (its dictionary has more than 135,000 entries)

Amsterdam's renowned Rijksmuseum, home to some of the most famous works by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters and which is undergoing restoration, will not reopen until 2010, two years later than planned. The need for extra building permits after some initial designs had been modified caused the delay, the Dutch culture ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. From Reuters * FINALLY Anniversary: David Letterman will celebrate his 25th anniversary as a late-night TV host on tonight's "Late Show."

Rembrandt's 17th century masterpiece "The Nightwatch" moved from the heart of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum for the first time since World War II Thursday to make way for major renovations to the building. The museum's most famous painting, depicting Amsterdam's civic guard, was packed in wood paneling with a protective cover -- including sensors to monitor temperature, humidity and vibrations -- and moved from the main building to an adjoining wing. It can still be seen by the public.

The Rijksmuseum, one of Amsterdam's biggest tourist attractions, has been closed indefinitely because of an asbestos scare, BBC News reports. Museum officials said there was only a small risk to the public, but they were shutting down as a precautionary measure. They said the potentially lethal insulation material had been found during an inspection by the national buildings service.

"The Man With the Golden Helmet," Berlin's most famous painting and for centuries believed to be a Rembrandt masterpiece, is the work of an unknown artist, an art historian says. Jan Kelch, a West Berlin-based art historian and specialist on Dutch paintings, said Tuesday that the 20x26 1/2-inch portrait was probably painted in 1650 by one of the Dutch master's students. "The painting is not a fake," Kelch told Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It remains a great masterful work."

April 20, 1990 | GREG BRAXTON, Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press

Scarred Rembrandt Returned: Rembrandt's "Night Watch" masterpiece will go back on display in Amsterdam May 1, less than one month after being sprayed with sulfuric acid by a man believed to be mentally disturbed. No extra security will be introduced to protect the painting at the Rijksmuseum, despite the fact the April 6 attack was the third against the Rembrandt this century, said museum officials. The 1642 painting will be returned to its customary center-stage spot in the main gallery.